


Sledding

by ScribbleTheCalico



Category: Farscape
Genre: Episode Related, Episode: s04e13 Terra Firma, F/M, Fluff, Sledding, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 05:49:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5152649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScribbleTheCalico/pseuds/ScribbleTheCalico
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on Earth, John takes Aeryn to his favorite place when it snows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sledding

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from wingsmadeofsand on Tumblr, after I sent her one. She asked for, "J/A on Earth, and before they leave (think Terra Firma) John takes Aeryn to one of his favorite places, preferably nature-y. Fluff." I had a really hard time coming up with nature-y, but since it was around Christmastime, I went with sledding.

“Why are we out here again?” Aeryn asked as she surveyed the sight before her. It wasn’t that she minded hiking after John out into the middle of nowhere—it was cold, but nothing that some borrowed winter gear from John’s sister couldn’t handle—it was that she didn’t understand John’s child-like excitement upon awaking to discover that it had snowed during the night. Almost immediately, he had told Aeryn that he had something to show her, helped her get bundled up, and dragged her out here.

It was rather pretty, Aeryn had to admit. They had reached the top of a large hill, which offered a view of scattered trees covered in snow. John’s hometown was roughly a mile behind them, leaving them secluded.

“D.K. and I found this place when we were kids,” John explained. “‘Cept of course it was the middle of August at the time and it was hotter than Tattooine.”

He shot Aeryn a quick glance, and she gave him a slight smile in return. John had tried to force the entire Moya crew to watch the original _Star Wars_ films, but only Aeryn and Chiana had actually watched all three. The film had been alright, she supposed, though the real success was finally understanding a few more of the words that came out of John’s mouth.

“ _But_ ,” John continued, “we knew that if it ever snowed, we had to come back here.”

“Why?” Aeryn asked. “I mean, it’s very…pretty, but why does it matter if it’s snowing?

John held up a gloved finger. “One, it matters because we are in the south, and it never snows. And two,” John held up a second finger, then waved his hand to the hill sloping away from them, “sledding.”

“Sledding?” Aeryn repeated, the new English word feeling strange on her tongue.

“Sledding,” John confirmed.

“What is that?”

John gestured to the sled he had dragged along with them. “We’re gonna sit on this, we’re gonna push off, and we’re gonna slide down the hill.” He positioned the sled at the top of the hill as he spoke.

Aeryn blinked. “Why?”

John settled himself down on the back end of the sled. “It’s a classic Earth tradition! You can’t have a snow day without sledding, snowball fights, snowmen, and snow angels.” He patted the front of the sled invitingly. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

With a small sigh, Aeryn stepped over and sank down onto the sled, letting John steady her descent. She couldn’t see the appeal of simply sliding down the hill, but John seemed thrilled at the prospect, and she wouldn’t be the one to spoil his fun. Settling between his legs, she leaned back slightly against him and felt his arms wrap around her waist. “Ready?” he asked.

“What for? I’ve flown a Prowler through combat at eight G’s. This is a small hill.”

“Fair point,” John conceded, before using his feet to push them off.

The cold air rushed past Aeryn’s face, and the hill was steep enough to create the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Still, she had to admit that it was a bit of a rush, though a short-lived one, as the ground quickly levelled out.

“That was nice,” Aeryn admitted as she sled skimmed to a stop. She waited for John to tease her, but heard nothing in response. “John?”

Aeryn looked over her shoulder to see John staring at nothing. “John?” she asked again, and he abruptly shook his head and muttered an apology. “What’s wrong?” Aeryn asked.

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

“John…”

John sighed. “This is gonna sound dumb, but…I remembered that hill being a lot bigger.”

“You were smaller then,” Aeryn pointed out. “So of course it seemed bigger.”

“Yeah,” John agreed, and Aeryn understood. The past four years had changed John so much, and however much he wanted to forget the world for a day and enjoy a simple childhood pastime, his world was simply too large.

“So is that all you do?” Aeryn asked, changing the subject. “You just…slide down the hill?”

“Well, you do it more than once,” John explained. “And there’s different methods. Come on, I’ll show you.” Clambering rather ungracefully to his feet, John offered Aeryn a hand to haul her upright before dragging the sled back up the hill.

Aeryn sat down on the snow and watched John slide down the hill, over and over, sometimes sitting, sometimes on his stomach, one time on his back. He made loud whooping sounds as he went, covering for his earlier lack of enthusiasm.

After several trips, John suddenly noticed that Aeryn wasn’t joining him. “Come on!” he hollered, and Aeryn grumbled good-naturedly and let John send her down the hill a few more times. The final time he pushed off with such enthusiasm that the sled tipped and dumped them into the snow.

 _“John!”_ Aeryn complained, sitting up indignantly. John simply started cackling next to her.

“We should have brought Sparky,” John said after a moment. “He’s more bite size. He might appreciate this a little more.”

“Rygel hates the cold,” Aeryn reminded him. “Didn’t you see him the other day wrapped up in every blanket he could find?”

John shrugged. “I’ll drag him out here later. It’ll be good for him.”

“Good luck,” Aeryn told him sincerely, then shuddered as she realized that some snow had sneaked in under her scarf and coat.

John noticed her shiver. “You need to go back?” he asked, and Aeryn nodded.

“I am definitely dragging Rygel out here,” John determined as they both stood. Rushing down the hill to retrieve the sled, he stopped for a moment to wrap an arm around Aeryn and pull her into a brief hug. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Aeryn asked, confused.

“For putting up with me. Letting me show you around.”

Aeryn considered her response for a moment. “This is your home. It’s where you’re from. It’s who you are. I don’t mind learning more about it.”

John nodded. “Let’s go. When we get back to the house, I’m making a giant batch of Crichton’s secret recipe hot chocolate.”

“What’s that?”

John grinned. “You’ll find out.”

As it turned out, Crichton’s secret recipe hot chocolate was just about the best drink Aeryn had ever had. Something about Earth still made her fidgety, but there was also something oddly endearing about it. Something distinctly Crichton-esque that suddenly made the man she loved make infinitely more sense to her. And sitting in John’s house, surrounded by frosty windows, sipping hot chocolate and listening to his wild tales of playing in the snow as a child, she had never understood him more.


End file.
